The three vessels of the Malik series originate as vessels acquired from the Syngonium Imperative. The Imperative itself is an Alien culture that SSC encountered in the 2030’s while repelling an Oo’Ol attempt to cull a planet. SSC could tell there were life signs on the planet but could not pinpoint them much less determine their technological sophistication. The Fight against the Oo’Ol lasted some three weeks at the end of which space above the as yet uncharted planet was littered with wrecks of both belligerents vessels. SSC had prevailed but this came at a cost, the remainder of the fleet was in shambles. As the acting Rear Admiral Hall considered his options as he moved about the ruins of his bridge aboard the SCS Black Lion, a faint signal was spotted on the planet below. Someone on the sole habitable planet in the Syngonium Cluster was trying to signal the fleet! In the spirit of exploration and aid to those in need a landing team was sent to determine who sent the signal and why. Little did they know this was the first meeting between SSC and a species so incomprehensible that most could not even accurately perceive what they were looking at. Relations between the barely corporeal Malik and the SSC’s representatives difficult at best but with time an agreement was brokered that benefitted both. It was discovered through the Treaty of Ankara, that the single habitable planet in the Syngonium cluster and by extension the cluster itself was the only place the Malik an extra dimensional species could manifest in our reality. Either way the Malik saw the weakness of the SSC navy at the time in that there was a lack of reliable logistical craft, and Hospital ships were at best no better than the warship’s own infirmaries. This resulted in one major tenet of the Ankara Treaty, that none of the vessels they were willing to craft should be used in initiating aggression. Ironically, the agreement has held unchallenged despite the existence of the Spinal Carriers, as they are most often tasked with search and rescue as opposed to outright combat.

Capabilities

All three vessels share similar basic performance, protection and armament straight from the shipyard. Often once equipped with the right modules for their intended role all give or take end up looking a lot like the Korolev class. It can be said that as of late the Korolev class is the most famous of the three models

The four most famous Korolev class vessels are the ‘greats’ that is the Great Eastern, Great Northern, Great Western, and Great Southern. Each of these cargo haulers operates at the theoretical maximum size for the hull form, and at noted maximum load has been seen to be well over thirty miles long laden with modular cargo containers in the typical over-under arrangement. These four titans of cargo single handedly moved roughly 260 million evacuees from heart to new settlements in other parts of SSC territory and to the distant Ancerius galaxy during the exodus. Despite this the Korolev class comes in a dizzying variety of modifications ranging from the massive ‘Greats’ to the comparatively tiny Core Unit which acts as a unloading aid for larger cargo haulers and is equipped with eight articulated arms for unloading cargo containers from its much larger cousins and moving the containers to the right receiving dock. To the point it’s been said that if it wasn’t made on the planet you are currently on it probably got there by way of a Korolev. To have such a massive cargo hauler flying about might seem tempting to the eyes of a pirate, however all Korolevs are well armed and approaching vessels that do not heed the established clearances are shot at immediately. Typical Korolev armament is comparable to most frigates or destroyers.

The Sierra Class in contrast is SSC’s premiere Hospital ship. Seemingly far removed from the Korolev design, the Sierra announces its intentions with meticulously clean hulls and red and white trim to indicate at a glance that it is a non-combatant. Much like the Korolev the Sierra has expandable capacity with the installation of the same reinforced ‘spinal frame’ units as seen on the Korolev. Specialized medical modules are installed on these added units usually four above and four below side-by-side per segment. Normal capacity is 300 patients, but each core module adds 150, and a single spinal segment fully loaded with eight modules can increase that base count by 1,200 patients and the needed supplies and staff to accommodate. It must be said that despite SSC’s own ethic of treating flagged hospital ships as non-combatants they do not expect other races to honor this and much like the Korolev class the Sierra class is armed but the armament is focused on absolute defense. The idea is that the Sierra isn’t equipped to initiate combat but it is equipped to guarantee that an aggressor will pay for any attack made against the craft.

Finally the Citadel Class spinal carrier is the third model used by the SSC and it compises the carrier backbone (no pun intended) of the Territorial navy. Keeping in mind the Territorial navy is akin to a form of coast guard but in space their priorities are different than either of the other branches of the navy and thus the Citadel is focused more on defense and support then active engagement. Much like the Sierra the Citadel relies on Flight deck modules to expand its fighter, small craft and drop ship compliments. Unlike the Sierra, the Citadel can only bear six modules per segment due to module size and typically two of these modules out of the six are supply modules to support the added craft on board. The Citadel is also unique in that without modules it can only transport a limited number of dropships and small craft. However each module allows for the transport of up to 300 fighters, and most Citadel class have up to six segments making for a rather impressive ability to deploy fighter screens. As with the others the Citadel class is armed, with a focus on the sort of defenses one might expect from a fleet carrier. Some missions have required the addition of Weapons modules to the carrier to increase its self-defense ability, while others have included Combat Medical modules, sensor modules or even modules for supporting other operations.

Variants

All members of the Malik line are variants of the primary Malik battle cruiser. This is not much of a surprise as the Malik excel at making interchangeable ship modules and thus their ships are modular down to the smallest bolt aboard.

Deployment

All three models of the Malik line have seen service in every conceivable region SSC has been to and thus they are as normal a sight as the Corsair class Sloops that tend to escort or patrol with them.